Last year I let the little garden go completely wild. Different types of grasses grew, all kinds of weeds, the place was buzzing like a city. The usual characters came back and a few new ones I hadn’t seen before. The honey bees came earlier in the spring and hardly any in the summer. There was an noticeable absence of the Monarch butterfly and the Japanese beetle. Also, surprisingly, there weren’t as many mosquitoes. No vegetables were grown, just a few left over sunflower seeds from the year before and a couple pots of basil. All in all, it was a lush little garden which will grant me fresh, rich soil for this year’s planting.

We had so much rain last Spring. We were soaked.

I placed a pot, flush with the soil, for a make shift frog pond.

When I was getting it ready guess who came to wait, our good friend Basil. Can you see him?

When I finished placing the rocks just so, Basil jumped in and looked like he approved.

Once the rhododendrons bloom, the bumble bees come out and the place starts buzzing.

And of course, the Ruby throat.

The beach rose bloomed for the first time!

The grass grew and so did the infamous Milkweed.

With it comes true delight; honey bees, bumblebees, butterflies and all kinds of insects.

I put a pot in another spot where I had seen Basil sitting once, but the frogs did not take to it.

Still letting it grow wild and free.

Then the Hibiscus comes along, giving everyone so much.

Its a favorite of the Green Leaf Grasshopper

Waiting patiently for my sunflowers to grow…

… and grow they did.

When summer is in full swing, the lawn gets mowed, but the ‘small corner’ keeps growing.

And more visitors arrive.

This time a smaller frog.

Here is the teeniest, tiniest frog on a mint leaf.

Even a toad came to our door step.

Underneath the walnut trees near the road grew some amazing fungi specimens.

The beauty of summer

The hydrangea is always a good indicator of the seasons changing.

And when the Milkweed start to open their pods of seeds.

The End